Meghna Bank Limited started SWIFT operations at its head office at Doreen Tower at Gulshan recently.

HN Ashequr Rahman, Chairman, Meghna Bank Limited inaugurated the operations, said a press release.

Abdul Alim Khan Selim, Vice Chairman, Meghna Bank Limited, Kaiser A. Chowdhury, Managing Director and CEO, Meghna Bank Limited, Shohudul Haque, Managing Director, Syscom Limited, local agent of Xchanging Limited (India), global partner of SWIFT and high officials of bank were also present.

Md Mehmood Husain, President and Managing Director of Bank Asia and Patricia Riingen, Senior Vice President of Western Union (East and South Asia) exchange documents after signing an agreement at the bank’s corporate office in Dhaka on Wednesday. Western Union (WU) and Bank Asia signed an agreement on transferring foreign remittance direct to Bank Account (D2B) of beneficiaries at the bank’s corporate office in Dhaka on Wednesday.

WU, under this arrangement, has also agreed to route account credit payments from all over the world to all banks in Bangladesh through BFTN of Bank Asia, said a press release.

A. Rouf Chowdhury, Chairman of Bank Asia, Md Mehmood Husain, President and Managing Director of the Bank and Patricia Riingen, Senior Vice President of Western Union (East & South Asia) exchanged the agreement.

Mohammed Lakiotullah, Vice Chairman of the bank, Rumee A. Hossain, Vice Chairman of Board Audit Committee and Head of Foreign Remittance Dept,

Steve Peregrino, Vice President (Marketing APAC) of Western Union (WU) and Mr. Vijayraj Poduval, Country Director of WU and Mr. A.M. Hamim Rahmatullah, Managing Director and CEO of Singer Bangladesh Limited, were present on the occasion. 

 Janata Bank Limited has been awarded 'Perform- ance Excellence Award-2013' by the Citibank, NA recently.

SM Aminur Rahman, CEO and Managing Director, Janata Bank Limited received the award from Khd. Rashed Maqsood, Managing Director and Citi Country Officer, Bangladesh, said a press release on Wednesday.

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of Pubali Bank Limited, speaks at the orientation course at the Pubali Bank Training Institute in Dhaka recently. 

Pubali Bank Limited organised an orientation programme for its newly-recruited 273 junior officers (cash) at the Pubali Bank Training Institute in Dhaka recently.

The main objective of the course was to familiarise the participants with the concepts, principles, rules, regulations, laws and practices of bank, said a press release on Tuesday.

Managing Director of Pubali Bank Limited Helal Ahmed Chowdhury inaugurated the ceremony as a chief guest while Additional Managing Director MA Halim Chowdhury was present as special guest.

In his inaugural speech, Helal Ahmed Chowdhury urged everyone to work sincerely and honestly and advised them to equip themselves with diversified banking knowledge to cope with present competitive global market.

He also said that one could become successful banker by exploring skills and talents at the highest level through applying themselves properly.

Additional Managing Director MA Halim Chowdhury also delivered speech at the function. He advised them to render service to the customer with determination, integrity and professionalism. 

The government lost a revenue of Tk110m at the state-owned Janata Bank because of various irregularities in the years 2010 and 2011, said an audit report made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The irregularities included cash assistance despite export bills unsettled, making less deposit to the public fund from income tax at source on LC commission earnings, payment of income tax on employees’ salaries and allowances from the bank fund without approval of the finance ministry and not collection of Vat from PAD or acceptance commission.

HS Fashion, a client of the bank’s Dilkusha branch, failed in its export business, which created a demand loan of Tk175m from the bank.

According to the report, the client was supposed to pay export bills of Tk11.3m to the Naranyanganj corporate branch of Sonali Bank and settle export bills of Tk3.26m by 20 January 2008. But it didn’t pay and settle those bills. Despite it, the Dilkusha branch of Janata Bank provided cash assistance of nearly Tk18m to HS Fashion.

Due to this forgery by the exporter and branch authorities, the government lost a revenue of Tk18m.

If a client do not settle export bills within two years, he will not be allowed to receive assistance, according to a Bangladesh Bank circular.

But Jananta Bank violated this central bank instruction providing cash assistance to HS Fashion.

The income and expenditure statements of different corporate branches of Janata Bank said the local offices earned a total Tk1.03bn as LC commission.

Of that income, an amount of Tk52m was eligible to be deposited to the government exchequer. But the local offices of the bank deposited Tk34m as income tax, leading the government lose a revenue of another Tk18m.

Similarly, the bank’s Shekh Mujib Road corporate branch of Chittagong earned Tk104m from LC commission, of which, Tk5.2m was eligible to be deposited to the government exchequer as per 5% income tax at source. But the bank deposited Tk4.9m.

The audit report said the bank had paid income tax on staff salaries and allowances of nearly Tk60m from the bank fund without approval of finance ministry during the fiscal year 2010-2011.

Besides, the government lost a revenue of Tk8.2m because of not collecting value added tax from acceptance commission.

Income and Expenditure statements of corporate branches of Janata Bank showed the earnings from PAD commission was Tk44.7m in 2010 and Tk10.3m in 2011.

But during the years they did not collect 15% Vat which stood at Tk8.2m on the total income of Tk55m as per value addition service code 56.00 of the National Board of Revenue.